A Promise Kept
by Lila Priceless
Summary: Spoilers for Soul Society Arc. Rukia meets a strange elderly woman outside of the Kurosaki Clinic.


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**Disclaimer:** The only Bleach I own is sitting on the shelf above my washing machine. But since Chlorox doesn't come with such beautifully drawn characters I must make use of Kubo Tite's.

Rukia was returning from school when she saw the old woman sitting in front of the Kurosaki Clinic. She could recognize all of the neighbors and usual patients by their spiritual signatures so she assumed the woman was lost since there were no train stations nearby. As she approached the stranger she felt a warm calm wash over as though she were greeting an old friend.

"May I help you?" Rukia was surprised to hear how soft her voice had become.

"What is your name?" the woman asked looking at her with clarity that only the very old and very young possess.

"Kuchiki Rukia"

The woman smiled and touched the side of her face gently in response, "He is such an honorable man. I knew I could trust him."

Rukia's face tingled where the woman had caressed it. She furrowed her brow at the woman's obviously senile response, "Are you lost?"

"I'm in the right place"

"Are you waiting for someone?"

"Not anymore," the woman answered cryptically.

Rukia looked around, but the streets were empty. She and the woman were the only living or dead people outside. "Who were you waiting for? I can take you to them."

The woman took one of Rukia's hands in both of her own, "I was waiting for you"

This confirmed Rukia's idea that the woman was senile and had probably wandered off from her family. The woman wore a light sweater and scarf, but that would offer little protection against the cool night air. "Would you like to come with me?" Rukia asked kindly.

"Yes, I would very much like to stay by your side." The woman rose gracefully and held hands with Rukia as they walked into the clinic.

"Do you get along with him? Your brother, do you two get along?"

Rukia assumed the woman was referring to Ichigo so she told the truth. "He infuriates me beyond belief sometimes, but I know no matter what happens he'll always be by my side."

"Is he happy?"

"Happy isn't a word I'd use to describe him. He isn't unhappy, but his demeanor isn't what most people would call joyful. I guess content would be a better word. He's one of those people you can't easily read unless they're angry"

"I see" the woman smiled as if she understood exactly what Rukia meant.

Rukia escorted her to one of the more comfortable clinic chairs. "Wait right here please," she instructed before going to find Isshin.

"I'll always love you" The woman smiled and nodded.

"I found her on the bench across the street. She's senile and thinks I'm someone else" Rukia explained as the doctor followed her from the kitchen.

"Hello, old friend" she smiled and greeted Isshin.

He stopped abruptly in the doorway. A flash of recognition flew across his face. "It's really good to see you again. How have you been?"

"I've been fine, but now I'm tired"

"I see. Is there someone you would like me to call?" He could tell that her earthly life was nearing its end. She gave Isshin her purse and he took it to the phone in the hall.

"Dear, would you help me to lie down?" the woman asked reaching for Rukia's hand.

Rukia escorted her to one of the clinic beds.

The woman held onto her hand and pillowed it beneath her head, "Tell me dear, are you happy?"

"I am" Rukia was surprised at her answer. Even with the all the chaos that was still going on, it was the first time decades she admittedly was happy. "I am truly happy"

"I'm so very glad. I know I have no right to ask this, but is there any way I can have your forgiveness? I was foolish and regretted it every day of my life. I promised to find you and try to make it right."

This was truly an odd request why would someone she just met ask her forgiveness. Rukia looked into the woman's eyes and saw her impending demise. She knew her soul could not rest if it had lingering attachments or regrets. "I forgive you."

"I can go in peace and please be happy," The woman smiled and passed away.

Rukia felt as if a part of her had died. She was a shinigami. Death was her life. She shouldn't feel that way for a random stranger.

The clinic doorbell began to buzz. Rukia was about to get up, but Isshin insisted she remain where she was. The woman in the waiting room sounded frantic, "Are you the one who called about our mother? We were in the country to visit my brother."

"You're speaking English. He might not understand." The question was repeated in Japanese, this time by a man.

"Please follow me," Isshin replied and led the two Japanese-American siblings inside.

"Mother, Mama, Okasan?" They called her by several names, but the lack of response was all the same. They looked at the woman smiling lifeless on the table, at each other, then at Rukia, then back at Isshin.

"I'm sorry about your mother" Isshin stated not offering any explanation.

The woman began to wail "She's dead. She died all alone. I was checking my e-mail and she wandered away from your home"

Rukia swallowed the lump in her throat, "She wasn't alone. I saw her sitting outside on the bench so I invited her in. I went to get the doctor and came back and held her hand."

They looked at Rukia. She was still holding her hand.

"Did she say anything?"

There were tears falling from Rukia's eyes, "She said 'I can go in peace and please be happy.' She was smiling. She smiled at me and then passed away."

"Why? Why today" the woman yelled.

The man's voice was calm even though he shook with grief, "Last night…she said tomorrow I'll die… She asked us to be accepting and to try not to cry. She was ill and wanted to visit her homeland once last time. I wish she was still alive, but at least she was in her home country and had a smile when she died"

"Byakuya how can you be so calm? Our mother is gone. We don't have another one. She died among strangers in an unfamiliar place"

"But, Rukia, do you see her smile? She died peacefully holding hands with this child. Maybe it was for the best, if she saw us crying I'm not sure her soul could rest."

"I just wanted to see her one last time. When the doctors wanted to treat her cancer, she said going back to Japan would provide the answer. She left the States, planning to come home and die."

"Those names" Rukia gasped. She stared at the dead woman's children and they did the same.

"We were named after our mother's friends. They were someone she swore she'd see again. Are our names recognizable to you?"

Rukia looked at the siblings more closely. They were both tall with light brown eyes. Their noses were pointy, but their chins were not. They had fair skin and brownish blonde hair.

Byakuya took her free hand while Rukia extracted the one from beneath their mother, "Thank you for treating her so kindly. It's reassuring to know she was not alone and at peace at the end."

"What is your name?" He asked while looking curiously at her curl. "Perhaps it was fate this is where she died. Maybe it was destiny that led her to your side. Towards the end she would mention a younger sister, but our mother only had brothers."

Rukia quietly stated her name while looking an untamed lock at the front of the siblings' manes.

The woman removed her mother's scarf and revealed the source of their family lock, "No matter how many hairstyles or products she tried it always fell back down between her eyes. Our father called it Hisana's antenna and said it was something she did to label her descendants. Our children have it too. Perhaps we're somehow related to you."

Rukia fainted before Isshin carried her out of room.


End file.
